Transcript Food Labels - Effingham County Schools

Food Labels
NO ADDED SUGAR
REDUCED SUGAR: 25% less than the
original (which still could be a lot!).
 LOW SUGAR: Not regulated, could mean
anything.
 NO SUGAR ADDED: Nothing was
introduced into the preparation/cooking
(Could still be a high sugar food.)

LIGHT/LITE
LOW CALORIE: 40 calories or fewer per
serving.
 LIGHT: No formal definition. Can refer to
flavor or color with no change in calories.

REDUCED FAT/ LOW FAT/
FAT FREE


Low fat means a product contains 3g of fat
or less per serving, and 30% or less of total
calories.
Reduced fat, on the other hand, refers to a
product's claim to contain at least 25% less
fat than the original version. This does not
mean that the reduced fat version is low fat.
Take a package of reduced fat muffins, for
example. If the original fat content per muffin
was 20g, and the fat has been reduced to
15g, it is still five times higher than the 3g
per serving that officially qualifies as low fat.
LOW CHOLESTEROL
Low-cholesterol label on food has less
than 20 mg of cholesterol or 2 grams or
less of saturated fat
 Cholesterol free means that the food
must contain fewer than 2 milligrams of
cholesterol and 2 grams or less of
saturated fat per serving

WHOLE GRAIN VS. MULTI GRAIN
Multigrain just means a variety of grains
were used, but not
necessarily whole grains.
 Whole grains are always the best choice.
They contain good fiber and nutrients
which otherwise end up getting lost
during processing.

FREE RANGE
For a product to be labeled "free range"
or "cage free" the animals cannot be
contained in any way and must be allowed
to roam and forage freely over a large
area of open land.
 This level of regulation has allowed
producers to keep animals closely
confined, but without cages, and still use
the label "cage free."

Real Fruit / Fruit Juice
“Real” fruit is not the same as “whole
fruit.” This could refer to a fruit extract or
juice, both of which contain fewer
nutrients and more sugar.
 Also the phrase “made with real fruit”
this is not a regulated term so
manufacturers can slap this label on
anything as long as there is a miniscule
trace of fruit in there.

% DI (daily intake)
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index, or GI, measures how
a carbohydrate-containing food
raises blood glucose. Foods are ranked
based on how they compare to a
reference food — either glucose or white
bread.
 A food with a high GI raises blood
glucose more than a food with a medium
or low GI.

Low GI Foods (55 or less)
100% stone-ground whole wheat, or
pumpernickel bread, Oatmeal (rolled or
steel-cut), oat bran, muesli Pasta,
converted rice, barley, Sweet potato, corn,
yam, lima/butter beans, peas, legumes, and
lentils
 Most fruits, non-starchy vegetables and
carrots

Medium GI (56-69)

Whole wheat, rye and pita bread Quick
oats Brown, wild or basmati rice,
couscous
High GI (70 or more)

White bread or bagel Corn flakes, puffed
rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
Shortgrain white rice, rice pasta, macaroni
and cheese from mix Russet potato,
pumpkin Pretzels, rice cakes, popcorn,
saltine crackers melons and pineapple